The picture above is from the September page of my book, The Big Field : a Child's Year Under the Southern Cross and shows a Fork-tailed flycatcher (tyrannus savanna). It is also called the scissor-tailed flycatcher and in Portuguese, its name translates as the "scissor bird". It spends the months of the South American winter (June-August) in the Amazon region, then flies south in September for the summer months. (As indicated by the green arrow in the small map of Brazil.)
All summer long, in the early evening, scissor birds can be seen swooping and diving - their tails like kite streamers -- over puddles or lakes or swimming pools, catching mosquitos, gnats, and small flies. It is a delightful creature to use in studies of seasonal migrations, while also learning about the rainforest regions.
To hear the call of the bird and know more about it, go to Whatbird.com and type the English name in the search box.
Migrating Scissor Birds Dance
You will need only black or grey ribbon or streamers.
- Tie a long band around each child's waist, leaving two long streamers.
- Designate one part of the classroom or playground as the Amazon rainforest and the opposite part as the southern Atlantic rainforest
- Lead the children in a "flight" from one to the other, describing the change from jungle, across lakes, rivers, and cities, to another rainforest, further south, where the insects are suddenly plentiful. Stay all summer and, as the weather cools, fly back north to the hot Amazon region again.
©2009 Anne Morddel
Seasons South and North
